Earth anchor



Mai-ch 7, 1933. w-fA, HEINRICH 1,900,498

EARTH ANCHOR Filed Feb. 2, 1931 l/Sv INVENTOR lA/ALTE/P A HHN/wc# mw JM ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 7, 19.33

WALTER A. HEINRICH, F sr. LOUIS, MIssoURI EARTH AN GHOR Application filed February 2, 1931.

rlhis invention 4relates to improvements in earth anchors and more particularly to an.- chors of the helical or screw type capable of insertion in soils of the usual type by a ro- 5 tary movement imparted to an associated torsion member. i Y,

A difficulty is experienced in screw anchors of prevailing types in that a special Wrench, or at leasta pipe-wrench, is required for driving the anchor. After the anchor is once embedded in the earth to the desired depth, the reinsertion of such wrench or other driving means is, of course, impossible without excavating to the depth of the anchor. Further, the necessity of carrying special tools for driving anchors of this type is inconvenient and uneconomical. The 1nability to recover, without expensive excava- K tion, an anchor once driven,- effectively precludes, for economical reasons, any subsequent use of the ground anchor.

The present invention has for an object, the provision of a screw type anchorvwhich may be, with equal facility, threaded or unthread ed into the earth, and so employed repeatedly in different locations. l

A further object of the invention is attained in a ground anchor assembly which requires no special tool or wrenchfor driving,

but which may be either driven or removed merely by the application thereto, of any rigid member such as a crowbar or the like.

Yet another object of the invention is atcluding a helical member, a driving point and a combined wrench and rod.l Otherwise stated, this object is attained in the provision of a combined guy anchor and driving wrench therefor. v

Yet another object of the invention is atf tained in the provision of a complete anchor assembly, including the means for driving the anchor, of such a nature that the componentparts Vmay be assembled without necessitating the usual threaded connectionsy or their equivalents. l

f Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear as the description pro- '50 ceeds and from the accompanying drawing tained in an improved anchorassemblyin-l Serial No. 512,932.

Vforming a part of the presentdisclosure, and

in which:

Fig. l is an elevation, partlyin section, of an anchor assembly embodying` the principles of the present invention; n side elevation of a section constituting a half portion of a driving point; Fi .Y Sisv a side elevation of an identical an companion member to thatappearing in Fig. 2, as viewed from an opposite side, and Fig. 4 is a hori- 60 zontal section along line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Referring now by characters of reference to the drawing, the device as preferably constructed consists of fourv parts, respectively designated, generally, as the helix or anchor body 5, an anchor rod 6 and a pair of similarly formed, mating point members 7 and 8. The helical member 5 is preferably forme-d by casting, say of malleable iron, according to an improved method or process forming o the subject matter of a pending a plication of Thomas B. Bash, bearing `Sisrial No; 302,258, and filed August 27, 1928as a result of which process the blade is of uniform radial section at all points Valong the helix 5 between the entering or cutting edge and the trailing edge. The hub portion 9 is-formed by preference of a slightly tapered section considered from top to bottom thereof, so as to provide an equal amount of metal about all parts of the driving pointl assembly, which, as hereinafter appears, extends into a downwardly tapered bore 10 providedin the hub portion. As bestappears in 4, this bore is of a polygonal section for a purpose hereinafter appearing, the internal, polygonal faces beingk indicated at 1l. The point sections 7 and 8 may be and are by preference of identical constructiom'each form ing one-half ofthe point assembly, the lowermost portions of these members coacting, in the assembly, to form a conical' driving point 12.- Each of the point members 7 and v8' is by preference provided with a plane periph'- eral shoulder portion 13 which serves in the 5 assembly to bear against a 'corresponding plane end face of the hub 9, asbest appears Y in Fig. 1. Extending inwardly or upwardly from the shoulder 13 of each of the` point sections 7 Yand 8, is

ig. 2 1s a 55 Y a tapered plug portion '100 14, characterized by a plurality of tapered eX- ternal faces 15, the length of the portion 14 and the location and conformity of faces 15, being such as substantially to coincide with the faces 11 within the hub 9, so that the point sections when assembled may be inserted into, and snugly engage the interior polygonal `surface ofthe hub, above described.

As best appears from Figs. 2 and 3, the mating point sections, assuming a pair thereof to be employed, are provided with plane engaging surfaces, this plane of parting between the sections preferably intersecting the median plane or axis of the anchor and anchor rod.

The pointsections 7 and 8 are each provided with a half bore 16 (Fig. 2), the upperportion of whichk may conveniently be of cylindrical conformity'and they lower portion Yof which is, by preference, flared outwardly toward the point y12 for the reception of a similarly flared wrench portion of the anchor rod, hereinafter described. Each of the point sections 7 and 8 is by further preference provided with a recess or pocket 17 (Fig. 2). n

The rod 6, above generally referred to, includes by preference, an integrally formed anchor eye 18 which, if desired, may be formed of somewhat heavier section than the shank of the rod 6,and thus serve the dual purpose not only of an eye, but of a thimble, so as to obviate the necessity of a separate thimble in making a connection thereto. Obviouslythe eye portion may consist of a separate member suitably securedl to the shank portion of the rod. Y

At its opposite end, the rod is preferably deformed, as by drop forging, so as to form thereon `a flared driving or wrench portion 19 provided with plane lateral faces20, the thickness ofthe upset portion of the rod, between the faces 20, being appreciably less than the dimension transverse thereto. It may here be noted that in the lower portion of the bore 16 in the point sections, there are provided similar plane engaging faces 21, preferably conforming in location and size to the plane faces 20.

It willappear thatthe tapered construction of the polygonal portions ofthe point sections, coacting with the tapered bore of member 8, will serve frictionally to maintain the parts in assembledrelation.4v vAs an optional, Vadded securing expedient, the hub portion and one of the point sections may be drilled transversely, Aas ,shown in Fig. 4, and Vay pin or key 22, preferably formed of a mild steel or other material relatively softer than the body of the anchor, driven snugly yinto place to an extent sufficient, preferably, to upset both its inner and outer ends to iat least ak slight degree. The drilled point section being thus prevented from. movement relative to the hub, the other point section,

as well as the rod, are all definitely locked into assembly with the anchor body. Itis to be understood, however, that the structure is fully operative without the inclusion of pin 22 shown in Fig. 4, and that whether or not the pin 22 is employed, the remaining elements of the structure may be identical in all important respects. v

' The manner of assembly and use of an anchor constructed as described is thought to be fully apparent from the foregoing description of its parts, but may be briefly set forth for the sake of completeness as follows: The anchor body including the blade 5 and hub 9 is first applied to the rod 6 and brought along the shank portion thereof. The point sections 7 and 8 may then be assembled with their plane mating surfaces in adjacence to eachother and about the upset portion' 19, in such a manner that the faces 20 lie adjacent the faces 21, and thus the point sections are effectively prevented from rotation relative to the rod. With theparts thusmanually positioned, the hub portion 9, ofthe anchor body is brought downwardly upon the point sections in exteriorly embracing relation thereto,so that the faces 11 of the hub closely engage the faces 1=5 of the point sections. Pressure may then be applied to the anchor body in any suitable manner so as to bring the hub portion downwardly about the point sections until the. plane lower face of the hub snugly engages the plane shoulder portions 13. Assuming the hub portion 9.and one of the point sections to have been drilled for the reception of pin 22, this element may be inserted and driven home, as above described.

Itwill appear that with .the parts in this relation, either with or without employing the pin 22, the helical body of the anchor may be driven by rotary motion applied at any point on' the rod 6, and preferably by means of a suitable lever member inserted through the eye. 18. By virtue of the tapered construction of the point sections, and the correspondingly tapered bore of the hub 9, it will appear that the parts are so related as to be` united more rmly, astension is applied to the rod 6.

As anl important incident of the described construction and method of assembly, it will appear that the operative connection between the rod, point sections, and anchorbody is in no wise dependent upon a particular direction of rotation of the rod 6 asis the case with the usual threaded connections employing pipe sections or a tubular wrench as a means of driving. `A distinct advantage is also offered over the type of anchor requiring a socket engagement between a wrench' tube of polygonal section' and ajcorresponding socket in' the anchor body, since with Vsuch older types of anchor no driving connection between the wrench tube and body can be effected, after the anchor is'o'nce set, without excavating about vthe rod to permit application of the wrench. According to the present construction no excavation is necessary since the anchor may be manipulated in any case, above the ground level.

It will appear that the anchor described is exceedingly simple and economical in construction and provides for certain distinct economies in driving and in use particularly since the utility of the device is not restricted to the particular location in which it happens to be first driven.

While I have described the invention by making specific reference to a presently preferred embodiment thereof, it will appear obvious to those skilled in the art, that a number of changes may be made in the form and arrangement of certain of the parts, as well as in certain details of assembly. The description therefore is to be understood solely in an illustrative, but not in a limiting sense, since obviously a number of changes may be made without departing from the full in tendment of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A screw-type earth anchor including a blade, a driving point, a torsion and tension shaft and means carried within the body of the blade and about a portion of the shaft, said means being adapted to prevent relative rotation of the blade and shaft.

2. An earth auger including a blade, a torsion and tension shaft, and a detachable auger point having a sleevev portion of noncircular external periphery for detachably connecting the blade and shaft against relative rotation. Y

3. In an earth anchor of screw type, an anchor body, a combined torsion and tension member detachably associated therewith, and connecting means for said body and member, adapted to prevent rotational displacement thereof, said means including a sleeve portion arranged for disposition between said body and member.

4. In an earth anchor of screw type, an anchor body, an anchor rod, and meansforming a driving point internally engaging the anchor body and externally engaging a portion of the anchor rod, and arranged to position the rod and body relative to each other.

5. In an earth anchor of screw type, a body portion having a helical blade, a combined torsion and tension rod for operative connection with the body portion, and a detachable driving point having means associated therewith constituting a connection between said blade and rod and adapted to prevent relative rotational movement thereof.

6. In an earth anchor of screw type, a onepiece body having a helical blade, a central recess in said body, a sectional point assembly extending into said recess and having' a central socket therein, and a rod having a deformed portion engaging said socket.

Q7. In a vscrewtyrpe vearth-anchor, body portion, van, anchor rod havinga driving head near one end, companlon members disposed ininterlocking. relation to said body portion and adapted to receive said driving head, 'said body' portion having an opening 'therein adapted to receive said companion members and to. position said members against rota-` tion relative tothe body and relative to. the rodg-z i f n" i 8. In a screw typev earth anchor,a bod-y provided with a hubY having a bore therein, a rodhaving an anchor driving portion adaptedftoextend within said bore andv means Y forming a detachable liner for said bore, em-

bracing in locking relation the driving por.- tion of-said rod, and formed for locking engagement within said bore.

y 9. Inascrew type'anchor,` aone piece anchor body having a central aperture there.

in, a sectional driving point having a portion extending into non-rotational engagement with the apertured portion of the body, saidv driving point having a recess therein, a combined anchor rod and driving wrench having a deformed head portion extending into and conforming to said recess.

l0. In a screw type earth anchor, an anchor body having a central hub portion of Vinternal polygonal section,` a sectional driving point forming a liner for said hub portion and being of external polygonal section so as to lit within said hub portion in locking engagement therewith, a combined anchor rod and driving member, and means associated with the rod and point for securing the rod and point against relative angular and axial displacement.

ll. In an earth anchor of screw type, a one-piece anchor body including a helical blade and a hub of internal polygonal scction, a pair of companion members forming a driving point normally extending below the anchor body, said companion members being of polygonal y external conformity adapted closely internally to engage said hub portion, and having an internally liared bore, an anchor rod having a deformed driving portion adapted to extend within and be closely embraced Vby the bore in said companion portions. I Y

l2. In a screw-type earth anchor, an anchor body including a helical blade, extending into the anchor body, an anchor rod extending into the body and point, and a member extending through portions of the body and point, for securing the point and rod into assembled relation with the body.

13. In a screw type earth anchor, an anchor body including a helical blade and a central hub, a point and a rod extending into a pointy opposite ends of the hub, and a pin extending v y 1.4. In a screw type earthanchor,` an anchor body including ak substantially cylindrical hubportion provided with a central bore of internal polygonal conformity, a pair of companion *pointmembers provided with adjacent vertical faces, saidpoint members adapted closely and rictionally to engage the inside surfaces of said hub member and collectively forming a substantially solid conicaldriving point below the body portion of the anchor, said point sections being recessed over the portion of theirv length adapted to extend Within said hub portion, and a combined anchor vrod and driving Wrench having a forged driving portion at .one end, eX- tending Within the recesses of the point members, and provided at its opposite end with an anchor eye. 1 Y f I v WALTER A. `HEINRICH. 

